Protective cover system and related method

ABSTRACT

A protective cover system for a motor vehicle includes a first roller, a first cover wound onto the first roller, a second roller and a second cover wound onto the second roller. The protective cover system also includes a control module for displacing the covers between stowed and deployed positions covering one or both of the motor vehicle bumper and an interior cargo floor of the motor vehicle.

This application is a division of prior U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/204,512 filed on 7 Jul. 2016.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This document relates generally to the motor vehicle equipment fieldand, more particularly, to a protective cover system for a bumper andinterior cargo floor of a motor vehicle as well as to a related methodof protecting an operator's clothing and an interior cargo floor of amotor vehicle from road dirt on a bumper of the motor vehicle.

BACKGROUND

The rear bumper of a motor vehicle has a tendency to get dirty duringmotor vehicle operation. This is particularly true when the motorvehicle is operated during inclement weather conditions or off road.

This document relates to a new and improved protective cover system andrelated method that protects an operator's clothing and an interiorcargo floor of a motor vehicle from road dirt and grime on a motorvehicle bumper when an operator opens the trunk, lift gate or tail gatein order to access the interior floor of the motor vehicle.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the purposes and benefits described herein, aprotective cover system is provided for a bumper of a motor vehicle.That protective cover system comprises: (a) a first cover displaceablebetween a stowed position and a deployed position, (b) a bumper surfacecondition sensor, (c) a presence sensor and (d) a control module. Thatcontrol module is responsive to the bumper surface condition sensor andthe presence sensor to deploy the cover over the bumper at a desiredtime.

The protective cover system may further include a first roller and thefirst cover may be wound onto that first roller. Further, the controlmodule may include a first roller drive mechanism and a controller.

That first roller drive mechanism may include a first drive motor and afirst linkage connecting the first drive motor to the first roller.Further, the controller may be configured to deploy the first cover fromthe first roller over the bumper in response to signals received fromthe bumper surface condition sensor and the presence sensor.

In some embodiments, the bumper surface condition sensor may include awindow in the bumper and a photoelectric sensor directed toward thewindow so that the photoelectric sensor detects substances such as waterdroplets and dirt deposited on the bumper.

Further, the presence sensor may be selected from a group of devicesconsisting of a photoelectric sensor, a motion sensor, a motion sensor,an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor and combinations thereof.

In accordance with yet another aspect, a protective cover system isprovided for a motor vehicle. That protective cover system comprises:(a) a first roller, (b) a first cover wound onto the first roller, (c) asecond roller and (d) a second cover wound onto the second roller. Thatfirst roller is displaceable between a first stowed position wound ontothe first roller and a first deployed position covering a bumper of themotor vehicle. The second cover is displaceable between a second stowedposition wound onto the second roller and a second deployed positionoverlying an interior cargo floor of the motor vehicle.

The protective cover system may further include a bumper surfacecondition sensor, a presence sensor and a control module responsive tothe bumper surface condition sensor and the presence sensor to deploythe first cover over the bumper. The control module may include a firstroller drive mechanism and a controller. The first roller drivemechanism may include a first drive motor and a first linkage connectingthe first drive motor to the first roller.

In addition, the control module may further include a second rollerdrive mechanism including a second drive motor and a second linkageconnecting the second drive motor to the second roller. In addition thecontroller may be configured to deploy the first cover from the firstroller over the bumper in response to signals received from the bumpersurface condition sensor and the presence sensor. Further, thecontroller may be configured to deploy the second cover from the secondroller over the interior cargo floor in response to the signals receivedfrom the bumper surface condition sensor and the presence sensor.

Still further, a guide roller may be carried on a distal end of thesecond cover. That guide roller may ride upon the interior cargo floorand support the second cover during displacement of the second coverbetween the second stowed position and the second deployed position.

Still further, the protective cover system may include a first actuatorconnected to the control module whereby the first cover may beselectively displaced between the first stowed position and the firstdeployed position. In addition, the protective cover system may includea second actuator connected to the control module whereby the secondcover may be selectively displaced between the second stowed positionand the second deployed position.

In accordance with still another aspect, a method is provided ofprotecting an operator's clothing and an interior cargo floor of a motorvehicle from dirt. That method may be described as comprising the stepsof: (a) detecting, by a first device, a substance deposited on a bumperof the motor vehicle, (b) detecting, by a second device, a presence ofan operator near the bumper, and (c) deploying, by a control module, afirst cover over the bumper. Further, the method may include the step of(d) deploying, by the control module, a second cover over an interiorcargo area of the motor vehicle.

In the following description, there are shown and described severalpreferred embodiments of the protective cover system and the relatedmethod. As it should be realized, the protective cover system andrelated method are capable of other, different embodiments and theirseveral details are capable of modification in various, obvious aspectsall without departing from the system and method as set forth anddescribed in the following claims. Accordingly, the drawings anddescriptions should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not asrestrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

The accompanying drawing figures incorporated herein and forming a partof the specification, illustrate several aspects of the protective coversystem and method and together with the description serve to explaincertain principles thereof. In the drawing figures:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of one possible embodiment of theprotective cover system incorporating two rollers and two covers thatmay be deployed to cover the bumper and the interior cargo floor of themotor vehicle. The two covers are illustrated in the stowed position.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the motor vehicle also illustrating thetwo covers in the stowed position as illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the protective cover system asillustrated in FIG. 1 except the two covers are shown in the deployedposition.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the two covers in adeployed position as illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of the protective cover systemillustrating the details of the control module.

FIG. 6 is a control logic flow diagram for one possible embodiment ofthe protective cover system.

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferredembodiments of the protective cover system and method, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawing figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference is now made to FIGS. 1-5 illustrating the protective coversystem 10 for the bumper 12 and the interior cargo floor 14 of a motorvehicle 16.

The protective cover system 10 may be generally described as including afirst roller 18 and a first cover 20 wound onto the first roller.Further, the protective cover system 10 includes a second roller 22 anda second cover 24 wound onto the second roller.

As will become apparent from the following description, the first cover20 is displaceable between a first stowed position wound onto the firstroller 18 (See FIGS. 1 and 2) and a first deployed position covering thebumper 12 of the motor vehicle 16 (See FIGS. 3 and 4). The second cover24 is displaceable between a second stowed position wound onto thesecond roller 22 (See FIGS. 1 and 2) and a second deployed positionoverlying an interior cargo floor 14 of the motor vehicle 16 (See FIGS.3 and 4). Both of the covers 20, 24 may include guide wires or stays(not shown) which provide the necessary stiffness to allow the covers tobe displaced efficiently and effectively from the stowed positions tothe deployed positons. Such guide wires or stays also efficiently windonto the rollers 18, 22 when the covers 20, 24 are displaced from thedeployed positions to the stowed positions.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5 illustrating the control system 26 ofthe protective cover system 10. That control system 26 includes a bumpersurface condition sensor 28, a presence sensor 30 and a control module32 responsive to the bumper surface condition sensor and the presencesensor to deploy the first cover 20 over the bumper 12 and the secondcover 24 over the interior cargo floor 14.

More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the control module 32includes a controller 34 connected to a first roller drive mechanism 36and a second roller drive mechanism 38. More specifically, thecontroller 34 comprises a computing device, such as a dedicatedmicroprocessor or electronic control unit (ECU) operating in accordancewith instructions from appropriate control software. Such a controller34 may comprise one or more processors, one or more memories and one ormore network interfaces that communicate with each other over acommunication bus.

The first roller drive mechanism 36 includes a first drive motor 40connected via the linkage 42 to the first roller 18. Similarly, thesecond roller drive mechanism 38 includes a second drive motor 44connected by a second linkage 46 to the second roller 22. In theembodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, the first linkage 42 comprisesa drive belt connecting the drive shaft pulley 48 of the drive motor 40to the first driven pulley 50 of the first roller 18. The second linkage46 comprises a drive belt connecting the drive shaft pulley 52 of thesecond drive motor 44 to the second driven pulley 54 of the secondroller 22. Here it should be appreciated that other types of drivelinkages could be utilized including worm drives, other gear drives oreven a direct drive.

As further illustrated in FIG. 5, the control module 32 also includes afirst actuator 56 such as a push button, toggle switch, touch screendisplay button or voice activation system, connected to the controller34 whereby activation of the first actuator 56 selectively displaces thefirst cover 20 between the first stowed position wound upon the firstroller 18 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the first deployedposition overlying the bumper 12 as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.Similarly, the control module 32 may also include a second actuator 58,like the first actuator 56, but adapted to displace the second cover 24between the second stowed position wound onto the second roller 22 asillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the second deployed position overlyingthe interior cargo floor 14 as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.

In one possible embodiment, the bumper surface condition sensor 28includes a window 60 in the bumper 12 and a photoelectric sensor 62directed toward the window so that the photoelectric sensor detectssubstances such as water droplets and dirt deposited on the bumper.Here, it should be appreciated that other devices and arrangements couldbe utilized for this purpose.

The presence sensor 30 may be selected from a group of devicesconsisting of a photoelectric sensor, a motion sensor, an ultrasonicsensor, an infrared sensor and combinations thereof. However, thislisting should not be considered limiting as other devices could be usedfor this purpose.

A guide roller 64 is connected to the distal end 66 of the second cover24 by means of the guide roller support housing 68. As should beappreciated, the guide roller 64 rides upon the interior cargo floor 14and supports the second cover 24 as that second cover is displacedbetween the second stowed position wound upon the second roller 22 asillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the second deployed position overlyingand covering the interior cargo floor 14 as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and4.

Consistent with the above description, a method is provided forprotecting an operator's clothing and the interior cargo floor 14 of themotor vehicle 16 from dirt and water being transferred from a bumper 12.That method includes detecting by a first device or bumper surfacecondition sensor 28, a substance, such as water droplets or dirt,deposited on the bumper 12 of the motor vehicle 16. The method alsoincludes the step of detecting, by a second device or presence sensor30, the presence of an operator near the bumper 12. In addition, themethod includes the step of deploying, by means of the control module32, the first cover 20 over the bumper 12. In addition, the methodincludes the step of deploying, by the control module 32, the secondcover 24 over the interior cargo floor 14 of the motor vehicle 16. Aspreviously noted, the controller 34 of the control module 32 controlsthe displacement of the first cover 20 and the second cover 24 betweenthe stowed and deployed positions in response to input from the firstactuator 56, the second actuator 58 and the data provided by the bumpersurface condition sensor 28 and the presence of the sensor 30.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6 illustrating one possible control logicflow diagram 70 for the protective cover system 10. This system 10 isinitiated at the start box 72. System initiation may be keyed todetection of the presence of the coded, motor vehicle specific, key fob(not shown) of the motor vehicle operator within a given distance of themotor vehicle 16. Upon initiation, the controller 34 determines if thefirst actuator 56 and/or the second actuator 58 have been activated (seeBox 74). If the first actuator 56 has been activated, the controller 34sends an appropriate signal to the first drive motor 40 to deploy thefirst cover 20 over the bumper 12. See box 76. If the second actuator 58has been activated, the controller 34 sends an appropriate controlsignal to the second drive motor 44 to deploy the second cover 24 overthe interior cargo floor 14 (again see Box 76). In contrast, if neitheractuator 56, 58 has been activated, the system goes to Box 78 and thecontroller 34 receives data from the trunk lid/lift gate/tailgatecontrol module (not shown) indicating if the trunk lid/lift gate(hereinafter “closure”) is open. If the closure is closed, theprotective cover system 10 goes to the end of its operating cycle (SeeBox 80).

If the closure is open, the controller 34 reviews the data received fromthe presence sensor 30 to determine if a user or operator is in theproximity of the rear or bumper 12 of the motor vehicle 16. See Box 82.If the presence sensor 30 indicates that the user is not at the rear ofthe motor vehicle 16 near the bumper 12, the operating cycle ends at Box80. In contrast, if the presence sensor 30 indicates that the user is inthe proximity of the bumper 12 at the rear of the motor vehicle 16, thecontroller 34 considers the data being provided by the bumper surfacecondition sensor 28 at Box 84. If the data provided by the bumpersurface condition sensor 28 does not indicate the presence of waterdroplets and dirt, the operating cycle ends at Box 80. However, if waterdroplets or dirt is detected by the bumper surface condition sensor 28,the controller 34 responds by deploying the first cover 20 over thebumper 12 and the second cover 24 over the interior cargo floor 14. SeeBox 76. The first cover 20 remains deployed over the bumper 12 unless(a) the user leaves the area behind the motor vehicle 16 adjacent thebumper 12 as indicated to the controller 34 by the presence sensor 30 or(b) the operator activates the first actuator 56 to stow the first cover20 (see Boxes 86 and 88). Similarly, the second cover 24 remains in thedeployed position overlying the interior cargo floor 14 unless the useror operator activates the second actuator 58 to stow the second cover(see Boxes 90 and 92).

In summary, the protective cover system 10 provides a number of benefitsand advantages including automated protection for user clothing and theinterior cargo floor 14 from dirt and debris commonly found on thebumper 12 of a motor vehicle 16.

The foregoing has been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theembodiments to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications andvariations are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 4, the cover 20 may include a zipper 94 and thecover 24 may include a zipper 96. The zippers 94, 96 may be unzipped toallow the distal sections 98, 100 of the covers 20, 24 to be removed forcleaning. The proximal sections 102, 104 of the covers 20, 24 remainwound on the rollers 18, 22. All such modifications and variations arewithin the scope of the appended claims when interpreted in accordancewith the breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitablyentitled.

What is claimed:
 1. A protective cover system for a bumper of a motorvehicle, comprising: a first cover displaceable between a stowedposition and a deployed position; a bumper surface condition sensor; apresence sensor; and a control module responsive to said bumper surfacecondition sensor and said presence sensor to deploy said first coverover said bumper.
 2. The protective cover system of claim 1, furtherincluding a first roller, said first cover being wound onto said firstroller.
 3. The protective cover system of claim 2, wherein said controlmodule includes a first roller drive mechanism and a controller.
 4. Theprotective cover system of claim 3, wherein said first roller drivemechanism includes a first drive motor and a first linkage connectingsaid first drive motor to said first roller.
 5. The protective coversystem of claim 3, wherein said controller is configured to deploy saidfirst cover from said first roller over the bumper in response tosignals received from said bumper surface condition sensor and saidpresence sensor.
 6. The protective cover system of claim 5, wherein saidbumper surface condition sensor includes a window in said bumper and aphotoelectric sensor directed toward said window so that saidphotoelectric sensor detects substances deposited on said bumper.
 7. Theprotective cover system of claim 5, wherein said presence sensor isselected from a group of devices consisting of a photoelectric sensor, amotion sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor and combinationsthereof.
 8. A method of protecting an operator's clothing and aninterior cargo floor of a motor vehicle from dirt, comprising:detecting, by a first device, a substance deposited on a bumper of themotor vehicle; detecting, by a second device, a presence of an operatornear the bumper; deploying, by a control module, a first cover over thebumper; and deploying by said control module, a second cover over theinterior cargo floor of the motor vehicle.